ABSTRACT
Sheikh Shakhbut feared that ‘rapid oil-financed development would have far-reaching socio-cultural consequences for Abu Dhabi, predicting that the resulting changes would soon erode the traditional way of life’. The circumstances surrounding the process by which he assumed power led him to keep all aspects of Abu Dhabi’s internal affairs under his personal control. Prior to the discovery of oil, the political system in Abu Dhabi was, by Western criteria, essentially rudimentary but not without its own logic. Sheikh Shakhbut posed a special problem for British officials; he was determined to dissociate Abu Dhabi from the other Trucial States. In 1965, British officials returned to the discussions surrounding the implementation of administrative reforms in Abu Dhabi. One may come to the conclusion that Shakhbut believed increased oil wealth would bring more woes than benefits to Abu Dhabi, and that preserving the status quo was the only way to save his Bedouin emirate. This mentality shaped his ideas for Abu Dhabi’s governance.
